Hacienda’s Polycom is expanding its technology partnership with ShoreTel in pursuit of the companies’ shared mission of delivering advanced business communications systems based on open standards. Both companies offer scalable unified communications (UC) products for businesses of all sizes, and this partnership will allow an open, interoperable system that combines ShoreTel’s IP telephony and UC solutions with Polycom’s telepresence products to create a seamlessly integrated system.

“ShoreTel’s long-standing commitment to standards-based technologies and open-architected systems gives our customers maximum flexibility to deploy custom solutions that suit their specific business needs,” said Mark Arman, vice president of business development at ShoreTel. “We are pleased to partner with Polycom and ensure our customers achieve truly interoperable, scalable and brilliantly simple visual communication solutions.”

A study published in late February has confirmed that a test from Roche Molecular Systems, headquartered in Hacienda, is able to detect two varieties of human papillomavirus which can cause cervical cancer. “At least four out-of five women in the U.S. will have been infected with HPV at some point in their lives, and it's critical to have early and accurate information about which individuals are at greatest risk for possible progression to cervical cancer,” said Mark H. Stoler, MD, Professor and Associate Director of Surgical Pathology and Cytopathology at the University of Virginia Health System. “Results… demonstrated that the (Roche) cobas HPV Test is a clinically valid tool for physicians.”

The study, which was published online in the American Journal of Clinical Pathology, notes that the Roche test can individually detect HPV-16 and HPV-18, two of the highest risk HPV genotypes causing 70 percent of cervical cancer cases. Results from the study also demonstrated that the sensitivity of the cobas HPV Test was equivalent to the current standard of testing, while providing the added benefit of clinically valuable information regarding the HPV-16 and HPV-18 genotypes in a single test.

The Northern California District Council of Laborers, based in Hacienda, has announced it will award up to 50 college scholarships of $3,000 to children of affiliated union members. Details are available on their web site at www.ncdc-laborers.org.

“This scholarship money can make a real difference to children who might otherwise not be able to afford college,” said Oscar De La Torre, Northern California District Council of Laborers' Business Manager.